[31][27] The party came into existence following a difference of opinion between Kejriwal and activist Anna Hazare regarding the incorporation of electoral politics into the popular 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, which had been demanding a Jan Lokpal Bill since 2011.

[32] Hazare preferred the movement should remain politically unaligned, whereas Kejriwal felt the failure of the agitation route necessitated changes in the government's representation itself.

[38] In the subsequent 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, AAP was re-elected as the governing party after winning 62 seats out of 70.

Outside Delhi, the AAP cemented its popularity when it emerged as the principal opposition party in the 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election after securing 20 seats.

Massive anti-corruption protests and strikes in 2011 were initiated by a well known social activist Anna Hazare in response to exposure of unprecedented financial scams and corruption by erstwhile UPA government.

A survey conducted on a Facebook page that purported to be operated by India Against Corruption[49] and other social networking services had indicated that there was wide support for politicisation.

[50][51] Hazare rejected the poll, saying "elections require huge funds, which will be tough for activists to organise without compromising on their values".

On 2 October,[54] Kejriwal announced that he was forming a political party and that he intended the formal launch to be on 26 November, coinciding with the anniversary of India's adoption of its Constitution in 1949.

[57][a] On 26 November 2012, the formal launch day of the AAP, former law minister Shanti Bhushan donated ₹10 million (US$120,000) to the party.

The convention was attended by two AAP leaders, Kumar Vishwas and Yogendra Yadav, and Kejriwal addressed it via video conferencing.

[61] Aruna Roy and Medha Patkar, who had differences with Kejriwal on certain issues, supported him after his 15-day fast against inflated electricity bills.

[65] On 23 March 2013, Kejriwal began an indefinite fast in an attempt to mobilise people against inflated power and electricity bills at a house in Sundar Nagri, a low-income group resettlement colony in North-East Delhi.

[67] The AAP also demanded an audit of power and electricity supply in Delhi by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, something that was also supported by civil society groups like the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM).

Kejriwal claimed the government's ban was because the drivers supported his party and carried AAP's advertisements on their vehicles.

The AAP's goal is to reverse the way that government accountability operates, and the party takes an interpretation of the Gandhian socialist concept of swaraj as a tenet.

[73][74] Kejriwal has stated that the AAP refuses to be guided by ideologies and that they are entering politics to change the system, saying, "We are common men.

[76] The party advocates scrapping Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and legalizing both homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

[81] The current member of the PAC are Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai, Atishi, Imran Hussain, Durgesh Pathak, Raghav Chadha and Rakhi Bidlan.

[92] It published its central manifesto on 20 November 2013, promising to implement the Jan Lokpal Bill within 15 days of coming to power.

[93] In November 2013, a sting operation conducted by Media Sarkar alleged that several leaders of the AAP, including Kumar Vishwas and Shazia Ilmi, had agreed to extend their support to some people seeking assistance with land deals and other financial arrangements in return for donations in cash to the AAP.

[97][98] On 28 December 2013, the AAP formed a minority government in the hung Assembly, with what Sheila Dikshit describes as "not unconditional" support from Indian National Congress.

The intention was to field candidates in large numbers to maximise the likelihood of recognition as a national party by the Election Commission.

[107] AAP convenor, Arvind Kejriwal fought from Varanasi against BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, but lost by a margin of 371,784 (20.30%) votes and came second ahead of BSP, Congress, SP.

Problems emerged in February 2015 when Yogendra Yadav and Prashanth Bhushan wrote a joint letter to the National Executive, highlighting Kejriwal's tendency to unilateral decision-making, which they alleged had compromised the party's core principle of Swaraj.

[131] In the state of Haryana, the AAP formed an alliance with Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party to contest three Lok Sabha constituencies.

[139] Sitting mayor Ravi Kant Sharma from BJP lost his seat to AAP candidate Damanpreet Singh.

Vote share by party in 2025 Delhi Legislative assembly election The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, which was in power for the previous ten years, lost the election, with several prominent leaders and cabinet ministers including national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendra Kumar Jain, Somnath Bharti, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Rakhi Birla, and Durgesh Pathak losing their seats.